Ah . . the life

I can't believe the kids have been in school more than a month already. It is so good to be back into a routine, albeit a busy one. Between working 1-2 times per week and running the kids to gymnastics, dance and golf, it is nuts around here (like every other mom I talk to!).

Kaiya got to be in a Labor Day parade for her gym and she did cartwheels and back-walkovers all the way down the street. The funniest part of that day was my journey to watch her. I had worked the night before, so I was dead tired, but I wanted to see her perform. So, I went straight from work to the parade route in Louisville. I got there almost an hour early, so I found a nice shady tree, parked my car and fell asleep. I about peed myself an hour later when the Centaurus High School Marching band started warming up right next to my car. Woke up to a tuba six inches from my car window. Sheez!

Handing out frisbees at the parade

Kaiya's cheering section (and candy gatherers)

In our "spare" time, we have enjoyed following our beloved Rockies and now the Broncos. Nothing better than meaningful baseball in September! Not too many people noticed or knew why Cooper got his haircut the way he did, but it was a copycat hair do of Troy Tulowitzki's from the middle of the season. He didn't tell me he was going to have it cut that way when he left with his dad, but I certainly didn't mind!

Cooper comes by his love of sports naturally, and he has been the lucky recipient of many game opportunities. In this week alone, he will go to two Rockies games and one Bronco game thanks to my dad and brother. The poor kid gets up so early for middle school this year, but he is managing his time so well and has been such a huge help around the house.

So, the weekend rolls around and he is so pumped to have a friend over. There is only one problem--it hits 10:00 p.m. and . . . . .

The Tulo stripes

First meet jitters

Kaiya's competitive gymnastics season is back in full swing now. She worked really hard over the summer to learn new skills and now that the season is here, she is training 3 days a week. Between school, piano lessons and gym, she is a very busy girl. The fall season is much different than what she did in the spring--the judges and scoring are much harder and everyone is trying to qualify for the state meet in December.

Her coach had to inform her on Monday that her new team leotard and sweatsuit weren't going to make it on time for the first meet today and she was pretty bummed. She is the ony new kid on the team this year and she wasn't too happy about having to look different, but I'm proud of how she handled it. There was some initial pouting, but no tears. :) And, one of her teammates let her borrow their old similar team leo, so it all worked out OK.

The meet today was, of all places, it was at my old gym in Ft. Collins. Very, very strange to be there as a parent. Walked in and there was my old coach getting the gym ready. We had a good laugh together. I have so much sympathy for my parents after sitting through these long meets as a mom now. They are so long (and yet both my parents, stepdad, brother and sister-in-law all came)!! She absolutely loves having her own cheering section.

She swears she wasn't that nervous, but the look on her face said otherwise. She was happiest with her bars and vault and just had a couple goofs on beam and floor. She ended up sixth place in the all-around--not too shabby for her first one! She gets to be in a Labor Day parade on Monday for her gym, so she is looking forward to doing cartwheels down the street. She is trying to figure out if she can throw candy to the spectators in mid air. Stay tuned!

Family pics!

It is quite possible that our family is the most UNphotogenic family on earth. None of us have natural smiles and I seriously dread getting family pictures taken. Perhaps that's why I haven't done it in over 3 years.

I just kept looking at our old photo and think "someday" we should get a new one taken. I have been bugging my friend, Kris, to humor me and take some family photos of us for at least six months. She is quite talented and very good in the editing department (a big key for the unphotogenic type). It was her idea to take them at the ballfield. What a great background for us! I'm very excited to go print some of these to fill some frames with some badly needed updates!

And they're off!

What a morning. The combination of nerves and energy around here made our whole house buzz. We set our alarm for 6:20 this morning and told Cooper we would wake him up at 6:30, which still gave him an hour to do nothing more than get dressed and eat breakfast. He was in our door at 6:18 and paced for an hour. He decided it was OK to let Doug walk him in this morning, but as soon as the necessary forms were dropped off at the office, he was gone.

Middle school, here I come!

Kaiya was the least nervous. She has some of her best friends in her class and gets to use the same classroom this year for 3rd grade that she did for 2nd. She is happy about her teacher and was pretty cute helping get Kinley ready this morning.

Ready for 3rd grade

I, of course, bawled as Kinley waved goodbye this morning as she headed into her Kindergarten classroom. She was the one comforting me telling me , "It's OK mom. I will be home before you know it. Please don't bake anything or make jam or anything like that while I'm gone." She has been my buddy at home for the last 2 years. Preschool was only a couple hours, so it will be very strange having her gone all day. I think I will be able to get over it when I realize how much I can get done and how nice a little time to myself will be!!

The baby goes to Kindergarten

It's all over but the cryin'

I'm not really sure who is more depressed about school starting in two days--me or the kids. I'm usually ready for them to go back to school, but for some reason, this summer has gone too fast. I love the warm weather, the sleeping in, the lazy days at the pool, trips to the lake with my mom, sitting in the baseball bleachers and no homework!

Fun in the sun with Aunt Erika

We had a great trip to Utah and then turned around and headed to Grand Lake last weekend with my mom's side of the family for a couple nights. Both trips involved being crammed in small places with lots of people--good thing we like both families!!

Grandma's Cafe a/k/a kitchen

Hanging with Lori's kids

Ice skating in Logan with the cousins

At the end of the Grand Lake trip, we bid farewell to Bennett, who headed off to college in Tulsa, OK. It was an incredibly tearful goodbye and watching my kids cry was not much fun.

Sibling separated by 18 years

Siblings separated by 27 years (all of my mom's siblings)

Bennett and I gave the kayak a try . . . fun!

Walking to the village at Grand Lake with Hamma (grandma)

Quality time with Uncle B

Cooper played in a 3-day golf tournament last week and didn't play his best golf, but had a good time. Doug, my dad and I all took turns being his caddy. He is looking forward to playing lots this fall as time permits as he embarks on middle school. Coop also got his pacemaker "tuned up" last week. They continue to make some adjustments and we are hopeful they will last. We lost 4 kids at work in one week (none while I was there, thankfully), which always puts things in perspective for me. I love my job, but losing patients is something that never gets easy.

Reflecting on his tee shot

We have enjoyed several Rockies games this season and took some friends with us this last week to enjoy my dad's awesome season ticket seats. With any luck, we will be able to go watch them in the post-season!

Kaiya and Kinley have squeezed in several play dates with their buddies over the last week and yesterday, we spent the day on the lake with my mom. All the kids skied and rode the tube until they could do it no more.

Making brownies with friends

Kinley and Ellie--ready to start Kindergarten together

Summer memories are made at Seeley Lake

I think I can safely say that we crammed about as much as possible into this summer as we could have. I guess reality had to come back to bite us eventually.

Smoke, water and fire!

No summer would be complete without a trip across lovely Wyoming. After Cooper's end of year baseball party on Saturday, we headed to the great state of Utah and more importantly, the land of Grandma & Grandpa and many cousins. Doug's family does a big reunion every other year, but we try to make a couple trips each year. Many of the 24 cousins live here (or within a short drive) so it turns into a giant cousin party for my kids. It is so neat to watch them having so much fun and amazing how close they are to their cousins even though they only see them about twice a year.

Jake & Coop

Kaiya & Corinne

Jessica & Kinley

We got in late Saturday night and Doug set his alarm for 6 a.m. on Sunday to help his brothers begin the all-day preparation of the evening meal. Doug's three brothers started a BBQ business (creatively named Triple L) this summer and they have mastered the art of smoking meat. They have sold their goods everywhere from fairs to car shows and from Manti to Logan. The stuff we had on Sunday and again tonight was prize-worthy. They smoked 40 lbs of chicken and 18 full slabs of ribs on Sunday and tonight was their specialty--pulled pork sandwiches (topped with cole slaw and pickles--DO NOT knock it until you try it). I don't normally take pictures of food, but it was an impressive operation. Makes me a little sad that we live too far away for Doug to be a part of it.

The giant smoker

More basting

9 hours of smoking

40 lbs of the best chicken ever Keep in mind--this is just immediate family!

One of Doug's brothers also acquired a soft-serve ice cream machine (that weighs in excess of 500 lbs), so for dessert we were treated to frozen custard. I lost track of how many cones my kids made. *Note to self--healthy eating begins the day we leave! After the feast, the kids got in a water fight and then we capped off the night with a driveway fireworks show.

How to eat an ice cream cone and . . .

not miss a drop of it!

Ready for some driveway fireworks

Pryomaniacs

A rare moment of relaxation

Today, the kids played all day. The moms and girls learned how to make hair bows (thanks, Anneke!) while the guys were busy in the kitchen again. This afternoon, Doug's brother Paul gave us a personal tour of the landslide devastation in Logan since he is a city engineer and was part of the recovery effort. It was an unbelievable sight.

Tomorrow, I get to spend the day with my best friend, Lori and her girls. It just doesn't get any better than this!

The home stretch

I can't believe how fast this summer is going! I'm not ready for it to end, but we are looking forward to a couple of quick trips coming up.

Last week, we went to the annual Cardiac Kids Day at Water World. For the 5th year in a row, we went with our good friends and had a ball. We always manage to squeeze in more rides than the previous year (thanks, in large part, to the fact that Elena worked there in her teenage years and knows that park like the back of her hand!). It's such a fun day and pretty funny to see all these kids with matching zipper scars down the front of their chest. Lots of the kids there this year were former patients I took care of, so it's fun to see them outside the hospital setting doing so well.

Enjoying the catered lunch

The slide that gives you a wedgy!

Just chillin'

Cooling off

Cooper's summer baseball season is winding down. This week, they had 4 games in 4 days and got 4 wins. For a team that started the season 1-3, they sure turned things around by winning 7 straight. They are all playing so well and earned themselves a spot in the tournament next weekend with a final record of 8-3. Cooper caught 23 innings in the last 4 days and he's not moving far from the couch today. He got out of his hitting slump (thanks, Uncle Brandon) and had a couple of rocket shots this week. Behind the plate, he had an unassisted double play and very few balls get by him anymore. His amazing coaches have made some comments to him and to us about his improvement as a catcher and I think that means more to him than anything. I know lots of the parents are ready for the season to be over, but I am quite content with my sunflower seeds and my lawn chair cheering these boys on. :) Way to go, Mudcats!!

Base hit to right center field!